A cyclone watch has been cancelled after initial projections showed Category 2 storm Oma could hit the southeast Queensland coast, including Brisbane, and northern NSW.

At one stage Oma was about twice the diameter of Cyclone Debbie, which hit Queensland in 2017 and was the nation’s second most costly storm, with insured losses of $1.78 billion.

But on Friday the Bureau of Meteorology ended cyclone and flood watches.

Cyclones do not usually track so far south – the last time Brisbane was hit was in 1990 by Cyclone Nancy.

There are about 10-13 tropical cyclones on average each season and four typically cross the coast. The season ends in April.